Pokemon: Uprising
by Jayfive
Summary: A epic story set a number of years in the future, people have grown up in different ways, and an entirely new enemy has arisen.
1. Prologue

JayFive PokeTechnologies present:  
---------------------------------  
  
POKEMON: Uprising  
-----------------  
  
Prologue  
--------  
  
'I've never told you guys this before. I've keep having this dream   
for a few years now   
  
'I dream that I'm dead.  
  
'It's more or less then same set of sensations every time. I'm lying   
on this stone floor and my brain is trying to make myself scream but   
nothing is coming out and I can't move.  
  
'Then I suddenly realise what's happened to me. I don't know why or   
how it's happened and I don't care, I just got this overwhelming   
sense of.....peace. Like I'm glad to be released.  
  
'You would think if you were dead that you wouldn't be able to see   
and hear, but it's not the case here. I can see people and I can hear   
a girl crying.   
  
'Then this flashing light starts. Going on and off right in front of   
my eyes, I can't see where it's coming from.  
  
'Just before I wake up, there's a new sensation. I can feel the   
emotions of everyone else in the room wanting me to live, but they're   
not just emotions though, I can feel the combined power bringing me   
back into the world. I can feel my body starting to move again and I   
try to look around and see what happened....  
  
'And then I wake up, I'm not scared or relieved or anything. Nearly   
every night I have this dream, do you two think that's a little   
weird?'  
  
'A bit, but compared to the fact that I dream the same thing it's   
practically normal'  
  
'Me too, and now I'm really freaked out'  
  
'What? You BOTH dream that you've died?'  
  
'No....I dream that YOU'RE dead'  
  
'Same here'   
  
'I know we've shared a lot of experiences together, but this is just   
ridiculous'  
  
'Yeah, anyone got any idea why this is happening, have I died anytime   
since you've known me?'  
  
'Not as far as we know'  
  
'Yeah, I think you would've remembered it' 


	2. Chapter 1: Subtraction

JayFive PokeTechnologies present:  
---------------------------------  
  
Pokemon: Uprising - By Jayfive (jonathan.highfield@btinternet.com)  
-----------------------------------------------------------------  
  
  
This Pokemon Fanfiction isn't kiddie stuff, but it's not a lemon or a gorefest   
either.   
There's a bit of swearing in this chapter, but no violence or sex (Yet :p ).   
  
  
Legal crap:  
-----------  
All characters contained...blah blah Nintendo...4Kids Production, Game   
Freak..yakkity shmakkity....  
All helpful/constructive criticism, reviews, ideas, suggestions, MiSTings,   
feedback, related artwork, side stories and general correspondence is greatly   
appreciated and actively encouraged.  
  
All flames, abuse and anti-Pokemon propaganda will be ignored.  
  
  
POKEMON: Uprising  
-----------------  
  
  
  
  
  
  
Chapter 1 - Subtraction  
-----------------------  
  
Luke had just turned 10, and as was customary in his home town of Pallet and   
all the districts for countless miles around, it was nearing the time for him to   
embark on his journey into adulthood by going out in the mysterious wide world   
to catch and train Pokemon. Hopefully, he would follow his heroes into the   
Pokemon League Hall of Fame.  
  
Earlier on in the day, he had visited the Beginner's Centre down the road and   
collected his trainer's license and his first Pokemon: a beginner's Rattata. It   
was a small, indigo rodent with tended towards the timid, but could get pretty   
vicious with those protruding front teeth when cornered. He had spent most of   
the afternoon playing with it to increase its confidence. Although for the first   
couple of hours, 'playing' meant coaxing the nervous creature out from under   
various items of furniture without getting scratched.  
  
It's not much to start with, thought Luke as he prepared for bed, but I can   
train it and start to win battles and then my reputation as a trainer will   
spread around the towns.  
  
He plodded sleepily into his bedroom and saw his single Pokeball on his bedside   
table, the chill of anticipation wriggled up and down his spine. He couldn't   
help but pick the ball up and juggle it from hand to hand. He practiced a couple   
of Ketchum-technique wind-ups that Sensei had taught in Theory class -   
"Scientifically proven in Oak laboratories to have the best throw-capture ratio   
due to the combined factors of surprise, speed and applied spin" - he   
automatically recalled from the text-book he had memorised for the exams he had   
passed two weeks previously.   
  
He was watching himself winding up like a baseball pitcher in the mirror for the   
fourth time when he noticed the reflection of his mother leaning in his doorway   
with an expression of amusement tinged with more than a dab of parental pride.   
Luke blushed and disengaged himself from his theatrical stance.  
  
'Big day tomorrow dear' said his mother 'I can't believe my little boy on his   
first Pokemon field expedition with his Sensei...'  
  
'Aw, mom....'  
  
'...his first step to becoming the town's next great master' she gushed 'I'm so   
proud!'  
  
Luke's mother bounded over in a paroxysm of motherly love and embraced the boy   
in a bear hug, which made him lost his balance and drop the Pokeball which   
rolled away. Luke pulled away from his mother's arms in a panic.   
  
'Where did it go? I hope it isn't broken' he started lifting up discarded T-  
shirts and old Pokemon League programmes searching for the missing sphere, the   
shame of explaining to Sensei that his first Pokeball had been damaged!   
  
'Luke, stop fretting! I saw it roll under the bed, I'll get it'  
  
She knelt down and began to fish out the Pokeball from the denizens under her   
sons bed, only stopping for a moment to pray she wouldn't find anything else,   
and threw it gently back to its owner who sagged with the relief.  
  
'OK that's that little emergency over, get to bed now, its an early start.'  
  
'No problem, the way I feel, I could out-sleep a squad of Snorlax'  
  
She smiled warmly, said her "goodnight"s and "I love you"s and turned off his   
light.  
  
After half an hour, Luke's mother crept back into the boy's room and watched his   
slowly undulating outline as she wondered what adventures and fulfilled dreams   
lay before him. The Sensei had told her at Parent's Evening a month ago that he   
was more committed to all things Pokemon than any boy his age and that the raw   
material was there to be shaped into a disciplined trainer. She took one last   
look, sighed thoughtfully and went downstairs to prepare Luke's packed lunch to   
tide him over tomorrow. The first day of his new adventure.  
  
Eventually, the lights in the household winked out as Luke's mum went to bed and   
all was quiet.  
  
'Brother...' said a voice on the wind.  
  
Nothing.  
  
'Brother, come to us....' the voice gently insisted  
  
Luke's new Pokeball began to shudder and suddenly it rolled off his bedside   
table and landed with a muted bump on his thick Bulbasaur rug.  
  
'Brother, free yourself...'  
  
'Rattata..go.....' Luke mumbled as he turned over in his sleep.  
  
The sphere popped opened and a surprised purple rodent sat up and sniffed the   
air.  
  
'RRrrraaatt?' it said to the world in general. To it's surprise, it got an   
answer.  
  
'We welcome you, brother...'  
  
'Rat. taa ta rat?'  
  
Being a fairly young member of its species, and to be honest, the runt of its   
litter, this Rattata wasn't certain what was happening and sure as hell wasn't   
following any beckoning voices. Last time it did that, some rotten Two-Legs   
caught it and brought it here.  
  
'There is shelter, brother, and food and friends'  
  
'Raaaaatata!!'  
  
The words resonated inside the little Ratatta's mind and, more importantly, its   
stomach. It scampered across the room and hopped onto the window sill where it   
saw that the top window was open just enough for a determined little Pokemon to   
squeeze through.  
  
The Ratatta turned and looked back at the sleeping Two-legs for a moment, it   
seemed to be weighing up the possibilities.  
  
'Join us Brother!'   
  
The command hammered out any other primitive thoughts in the immature Pokemon's   
mind.  
  
'Taataa!' it said, jumped for the open window, scrambled for some purchase with   
his claws on the sill, slipped through and scampered off into the night.  
  
  
J5-J5-J5-J5-J5-J5-J5-J5-J5-J5-J5-J5-J5-J5-J5-J5-J5-J5-J5-J5-J5-J5-J5-J5-J5-J5-   
  
  
'Students! Prepare for inspection'  
  
A formation of thirty pre-teen bodies stood rigidly to attention as the special   
guest Master of Ceremonies for the field trip, former Eilte Four member Master   
Bruno, yelled at them like a drill instructor. He strode along the line of   
youngsters and regarded them with a learned eye.  
  
'I can honestly say that I'm impressed, Sensei Yakamoto, one of the best turned   
out set of new students I've seen in many a year'   
  
The instructor bowed graciously and allowed himself the indiscipline of   
teacherly pride.  
  
'So' continued Bruno 'may my humble self and the gathered people of Pallet have   
the esteemed pleasure of feasting their eyes on your new travelling companions?'  
  
The children looked a little around a little uncertainly, but this sudden   
politeness was a deliberate ploy by Bruno.  
  
'Preeeeeee-sent your Pokeballs!'  
  
Some of the youths jumped about a foot in the air of this sudden command and the   
rest reached quickly for the Pokeballs attached to their waists.  
  
Except for Luke.  
  
He didn't know how he thought he could get away with getting through this trip   
without anyone noticing him and, most importantly the space on his belt where   
his Pokeball should be. He could feel himself trying to shrink into his clothes   
and get out of sight of the imposing figure of Bruno and the imminent   
disappointment of his Sensei.  
  
'From the left people, let's see your Pokemon!'  
  
One by One, on the order of Master Bruno, the neophyte trainers lobbed over   
their Pokeballs which pinged open, released a plethora of creatures onto the   
field. One smart-alec decided on a full Ketchum-technique pitch, fluffed it and   
sent a very bewildered Caterpie skidding and rolling across the turf before   
coming to a halt between the eyes of an equally surprised Geodude. The assembled   
crowd of parents, friends and well-wishers applauded this brave soul and even   
the hard-faced Bruno could raise a faint smile.  
  
Luke was still hoping against hope that no-one would spot him at the end of the   
line and the field trip would start without him, but inevitably everyone waited   
expectantly to see which Pokemon he would send to join the low-level menagerie   
formed in front of him.   
  
'Well?' shouted Bruno as he paced towards Luke.  
  
'Um....'  
  
'What is it?' said the Fighting Master as he ignored the fidgeting and nervous   
laughter of the other students. 'Where's your Pokemon?' He shoved his face into   
Luke's. You haven't LOST it have you'. More laughter.  
  
'Ah...' Luke cringed, any second now, he thought.  
  
Bruno suddenly noticed the shame-faced boy's empty belt, and detonated like an   
angry Voltorb.  
  
'WHAT? YOU HAVE? Yakamoto, get your fetid carcass OVER here!'  
  
The Head Trainer shuffled humbly over to the Master's imposing form, which was   
quaking with anger.  
  
'Is there a problem, Master Bruno?'  
  
'A PROBLEM? What kind of kindergarten do you run here? How is it POSSIBLE how   
this child to LOSE his first Pokemon? How was this, this BABY allowed to receive   
sponsorship from the Pokemon league.'  
  
'But it wasn't my fault....' started Luke, a lump forming in his throat.  
  
'I'm sure there's a explanation....' said the Sensei, trying to quell the rising   
ire of the hot-headed Master.  
  
'Quiet both of you! The Pokemon league was had just about enough humiliation   
just lately without the pathetic attempts of the likes of you and this excuse of   
a trainer....'  
  
'That's enough out of you, you bully' shouted a female voice from the stand.  
  
Oh no, thought Luke, now she's going to show me up. Things just get better.  
  
Bruno turned around with a nasty, sarcastic smile on his face.  
  
'And who might you be, my dear?'  
  
'I'm the boys mother and....'  
  
'Oh, a mummy's boy as well as a useless trainer I see' Bruno interrupted,   
casting a sneer in Luke's direction.  
  
'CATCH!', Luke's mother yelled and pelted something at the bulky Master who   
caught it in one hand.  
  
'Nice throw, a variant of one of Agatha's old techniques I believe. Her memory   
continues to live on' said Bruno examining what he had received.   
  
A Pokeball.  
  
'I was a trainer for a few years but I gave it up and settled down when I became   
pregnant with Luke'  
  
Luke stared wide-eyed in astonishment. This was the first he had heard about   
this, there was no evidence of it around his house, but it did cast some light   
his mother's unbridled enthusiasm at the idea for him becoming a trainer. She   
jogged over to them and bowed in respect to Bruno, who barely bothered to return   
the gesture.   
  
'I see' said Bruno, rolling the Pokeball between his fingers 'so is this ever so   
dramatic entrance is for any particular reason?'  
  
'I came to explain that far from losing his Pokemon, it actually escaped last   
night from Luke's bedroom during the night'  
  
Bruno's tone was as calm as the eye of a storm. 'Oh I see! That's OK then! It   
makes perfect sense that a...what was the boy given?'  
  
Sensei flicked through the notes on his clipboard. 'A level 4 Rattata' he   
reported.  
  
'Indeed, how could I, in my haste, have overlooked the fact that a Pokemon which   
had not yet reached maturity and specially captured to not put up any resistance   
to humans, could have the strength and the will power to escape from a Pokeball'  
  
Bruno's voice lowered to a growl and slid up to a shout 'Except maybe the fact   
THAT IT ISN'T POSSIBLE!'  
  
Over in the crowd of patiently waiting Pokemon, a Pidgey judged by standard   
procedures to be Level 3 looked around in surprise at the other Pokemon, all of   
the No-Feathers and at the sky, wondering where that insistent voice was coming   
from.  
  
Luke's mother was unimpressed by Bruno's theatrics.   
  
'Run a check on the Pokeball'   
  
Bruno gave her a withering look and reached out a demanding palm, which Sensei   
Yakamoto duly filled with a handheld Pokeball Integrity Tester designed by the   
Ivy Institute and used to examine faulty or damaged trainer equipment for   
trainers out in the field when a Pokemon Centre wasn't available. It was a   
pistol shaped object with a socket to plug the suspect ball into, a trigger to   
activate the plethora of tests and a small LCD screen for results. The viewer   
for this particular P.I.T. didn't give the answers Bruno was hoping for. His   
expression blackened further from mild anger to powerless fury.  
  
'Shit!' he expectorated and flung the tester at the Sensei who tried his best to   
give a second opinion on the test results, but could yield no alternative   
explanations.  
  
'How can this be?' he gasped, and turned to Luke and parent, 'I think we owe you   
an apology. The Luke's Pokeball ID number checks out OK, but the readings show   
that the ball was opened at 1:31 this morning but it also says that there was no   
ball activation commands and there are no faults in the ball's mechanisms. I   
can't understand it.'   
  
'I still don't believe it' Bruno shouted 'This is some kind of trick, there is   
no way on earth that such a weak Pokemon could have escaped'  
  
At this point the distracted Pidgey suddenly unfurled it's wings and lifted   
itself into the air. It shot up to the crowd, gave them a mild Gust Attack which   
removed a few hats, span around and swooped in the direction of Bruno and left   
him with a going-away present on his tunic. The crowd watched as the bird soared   
away. The Pidgey's former owner started to cry and ran over to his parents.  
  
'Ugh' said Bruno, patting his pockets for a handkerchief.  
  
'Well' said Luke's mother with a hand on her hip 'would you like to try and   
catch up with that Pidgey and tell it that what it just did wasn't possible?'  
  
The Fighting Master's shoulders sagged. 'I may as well tell you now you saw   
that, the boy's Rattata wasn't the first low-level Pokemon to escape just   
lately'  
  
'What?' said Luke, his mother and his teacher as one voice.  
  
'It was the fifth this month alone. Sixth with that Pidgey'. The child's father   
was trying to comfort him with promises of a shiny new Pidgey and a dinner down   
at the Beedrill Burger Bar.  
  
'These are only the incidents that I have heard of in Pallet and Viridian. The   
league is sending out researchers to the other town's and is preparing to open   
an investigation' Bruno continued, wiping his tunic 'We were trying to keep it   
quiet, but now with all these people seeing that little performance there's not   
much chance of that. People may as well be Psychic Masters the way gossip and   
rumour spreads'  
  
Seeing as he was off the hook for the moment, Luke decided to chip in with a   
question for the muscle-bound Master. 'Has the League got any idea why this is   
happening?'  
  
'No' Bruno looked out to the mountains far to the North that peeked over the   
treetops of Viridian Forest 'but we're planning to speak to some experts'  
  
  
J5-J5-J5-J5-J5-J5-J5-J5-J5-J5-J5-J5-J5-J5-J5-J5-J5-J5-J5-J5-J5-J5-J5-J5-J5-J5-   
  
  
"Anna took off her glasses and removed the pins from her hair. She shook the   
blonde tresses free and they fell all the way down to her shapely hips".  
  
'Why Nurse Jones, you're beautiful...' Doctor Forrester gasped.  
  
'Oh Doctor, I've waited so long for you to notice me on the Pokemon ward, but   
now I can't be away from you any longer, I love you.' She embraced the Doctor   
and he held her in his strong grip and they slowly moved their lips   
together....."  
  
'PROFESSOR IVY!'  
  
'Woah!'  
  
The chair, its occupant, a bottle of lemonade and the well-thumbed copy of 'Love   
at the Pokemon Centre' all collapsed in a heap as a junior research assistant   
burst into Professor Ivy's private study. As the young man got his breath back   
from his long run, the Professor clambered to her feet, swore at the fizzy drink   
stain on her lab coat and fixed an annoyed stare upon the intruder.  
  
'Ever considered a crash course in knocking this semester?'  
  
'Sorry Ma'am, but I thought you might want to come and see this' he replied as   
he turned to run back out of the door. Professor Ivy ran after him and caught up   
a few doors down the corridor.  
  
'Look, er...'  
  
'Quentin'  
  
'Yeah, um...Quentin, what exactly is it you're so desperate to show me?' A   
panicky thought invaded her mind 'this had better not be another of those   
student pranks or they'll be hell to pay' she warned as she swerved to avoid a   
litter bin.  
  
'No, there's been a breakout over at Lab 1'  
  
That's where Brock is today, thought Ivy, I'm supposed to be meeting him for   
dinner after work. Wonder if this is going to....  
  
Ivy's train of thought suddenly left Lovelife Central and derailed itself. She   
stopped running and gaped at the receding back of the sprinting Quentin.  
  
'A WHAT?'  
  
'Some Pokemon have escaped to the outside! Come on!'  
  
A few minutes later, the two runners crossed the main courtyard of the Ivy   
Institute with its giant mosaic of an Eevee and its five evolutionary forms.   
They came to halt outside the entrance to Lab No.1 - Behavioral Studies, the   
biggest single department in the whole Institute, taking up just under half of   
the total area. Ivy and Quentin arrived just in time to see a window pane   
vibrate and explode from a Supersonic attack. A couple of Zubats, a Venomoth and   
a Butterfree flew through the glassless rectangle and soared away, the latter   
species chanted 'Free, Free' in what Ivy thought was a tone with a more than a   
hint of mockery.  
  
'I guess saying "some Pokemon have escaped" was a bit optimistic' said Quentin   
ruefully.  
  
A shout came through what was left of the window.  
  
Professor Ivy swung open the double doors of the lab and peered in. Quentin   
followed her, the sight that greeted him was as if something had Seismic Tossed   
the lab across the Island and back. Just about every shelf, cupboard and   
workbench had been stripped, smashed and generally annihilated. Every test   
subject cage was conspicuous by its lack of Pokemon contents. Quentin couldn't   
think of anything intelligent to say, so he went for the obvious.  
  
'Good God..'  
  
Professor Ivy crunched her way through the broken test tubes trying to find her   
fiancée, a groan from the back of the lab she noticed two brown-trousered legs   
poking out from underneath a small hillock of shelves, filing cabinets and   
large, unwieldy text books. Ivy nervously called out to her beau.  
  
'Brock honey, you OK?'  
  
A voice eminated from the mound of scientific rubble.  
  
'I think so, are my legs still there?'  
  
'What? Under those shelves?'  
  
'Yep. At least all of me is in the same place, that's a good start. Fancy   
getting me out of here Felly?'  
  
The Professor and Quentin, still blaspheming at the state of the lab, started to   
gingerly dig Brock out from his tomb of research materials. When they finally   
got to him, Brock appeared to miraculously uninjured save for a few scratches   
and a twisted ankle. The two rescuers took a shoulder each and helped him over   
one of the very few intact chairs. Brock sat down, jerked back up grimacing in   
pain and gingerly lowered himself down again.  
  
'OW! Must have a big bruise THERE!'  
  
'I'll put some ointment on it later' said Ivy who immediately realised what   
she'd said and blushed.  
  
Meanwhile Quentin's eyebrows made a beeline for his hairline.  
  
'Ahem' he managed.  
  
'So what the hell happened here?' said Ivy, getting her brain back in gear.  
  
'I'm not sure' said Brock, running his hands through his heavily-gelled hair,   
which sprang back into it's familiar spiky formation. 'I was just running some   
tests on the Butterfree's spore sacs. Y'know, trying to sort out why they get   
blocked up with mucus every so often, when all hell broke loose. It was a couple   
of Mankey's started it, they busted out of their cages....'  
  
'Mankey's?' interrupted Ivy, angrily glaring at her boyfriend. 'I thought I told   
you to make sure they were sedated, you remember what happened last winter, we   
don't want any more court cases'  
  
'They were, Quentin here did it himself not more than an hour ago'  
  
The junior researcher nodded enthusiastically at the chance to absolve himself   
of any blame.  
  
'Anyway, they went for me. The weird thing is, they seemed to be more interested   
in restraining me than attacking me. One of them held me down and....well, sat   
on me, while the other started to open the other cages.'  
  
Professor Ivy was incredulous. 'I'm sorry, can you run that by me again?   
Mankeys? That's the furry fellas with the anger management issues and the punch   
like a sledgehammer, yes? Working in TEAMS?'  
  
'I know, I swear it's the truth. I saw it with my own eyes'  
  
That doesn't count for much, thought Quentin, as he smiled as he recalled his   
friends drunkenly toasting 'Good ole Squinty' at the End-of-year party last   
summer.  
  
'So, all the Pokemon went Primeapeshit on me and completely totalled the place,   
even the Colony of Parasect's joined in, pushed those shelves on me. All the   
Pokemon seemed to be working together, I've never seen behaviour like it. I   
would've been intrigued if I wasn't busy having furniture piled on top of me'  
  
'Where was security?'  
  
'I think they got here pretty quickly, but that Butterfree spored them all out.   
Listen' Brock put a finger to his lips, the others stayed silent and could make   
out the sound of snores drifting over them from outside the room.   
  
'It was if a couple of Pokemon stayed behind long enough to make sure everyone   
escaped. The more I think about it, the more astounding it is. This is a hell of   
a breakthrough in Behavioural Studies'  
  
'It's the breakages in Behavioural Studies I'm concerned about. I'll get on the   
phone to the police and see if they can do anything, the Pokemon had radio tags   
didn't they'  
  
Brock didn't answer and looked away.  
  
'You'd better have tagged them Brock or.....' began Ivy with mounting anger but   
then noticed what Brock was looking at.  
  
'Oh my God'  
  
In one corner of the lab was a pile of purple loops of material with a   
electronic device attached which normally helped keep track of Pokemon if they   
were released back into the wild after being studied. It seemed obvious to Ivy   
that the Pokemon had disengaged each other of these instruments so they wouldn't   
be followed.  
  
It slowly dawned on Brock that everything he had been researching and studying   
these last few years what starting to fall apart around his ears.  
  
'Just what the hell is happening? Since when did Pokemon co-operate like this?   
Since when did they feel the need to escape?'   
  
'That's what we're trying to find out' said a new voice from the lab entrance  
  
The three scientists whirled around to see a silhouette of a shapely female form   
leaning on the doorframe.  
  
'Mistress Prima, nice to see the League is taking actually interest for a   
change' said Professor Ivy icily, shutting Quentin's lower jaw for him.  
  
J5-J5-J5-J5-J5-J5-J5-J5-J5-J5-J5-J5-J5-J5-J5-J5-J5-J5-J5-J5-J5-J5-J5-J5-J5-J5- -  
  
David was in deep trouble, he knew it was incredibly dumb to go out in the   
storm but he hadn't expected this to happen. He'd been making a dash for his   
sister's house in Celadon when her prized pedigree Slowpoke was spooked by an   
ember of wild Growlithes that seemed in a terrible hurry to be some place else.   
The first thing that entered David's mind was what kind of vicious wild Pokemon   
predator was chasing the canines. After all, the puppy Pokemon was famous for   
it's bravery.  
  
Then a terrible notion occurred to him. Whatever beast was pursuing them might   
also settle for being a Davidivore. But there was no tell-tale rustle of the   
bushes and a hungry thing with lots of big teeth bursting out. Only the patter   
of rain on David's steadily dampening coat and a grumbling of thunder.  
  
And an almighty explosion.  
  
A bolt of lightning crashed into a tree a few yards away and severed a huge   
branch from a tree. David hadn't had time to throw himself anywhere and watched   
with horror as the enormous limb landed on the body of his sister's Pokemon   
which had dawdled off away from the pack of fleeing Growlithes while David had   
been considering himself as a evening snack. It got up and shrugged off the   
smoldering limb more or less straight away and David thought he had got away   
with it when it walked back towards him.  
  
And then it collapsed, along with the pit of David's stomach. He nudged the   
stricken Pokemon a few times, because Slowpokes had a reputation for false   
alarms like this, but the eyes had closed and the dopey expression had been   
replaced by a grimace.  
  
David spent the next few minutes in a rain-sodden panic.  
  
When he had finished swearing and pacing about, he decided to make a break for   
the Pokemon Centre in Celadon. He reckoned it was still about fifteen minutes   
walk away, but seeing he was going to have to sling one hundred pounds of prime   
pedigree Slowpoke over his shoulders, it was going to be about thirty minutes   
stagger away.  
  
An hour and a half later, the townspeople of Celadon, had they been looking out   
of their windows and saying 'glad i'm not out there dear, the rain's terrible   
tonight', would've have seen a drenched young man carrying a large pink object   
draped over himself. Also, had the thunder not been so loud, the Celadonians   
would've heard him wondering out loud why his sister had decided to enter her   
Slowpoke in the Super-Heavyweight class for shows.  
  
David, by now seeing flashes of colour in front of his eyes, stumbled towards   
the neon-lit exterior of the Pokemon Centre and prayed that it still had   
automatic doors. The mechanical swish and blast of warm air made his heart sing.   
He was barely able to drop the Slowpoke on the counter and ring the service   
buzzer before his knees buckled. He slid down the counter, closed his eyes and   
occupied himself with hyperventilating.  
  
After a minute, a nervous voice called out, 'Hello? Anyone there?'  
  
David's eyes jerked open and the first thing he noticed was a row of what   
appeared to be Wanted posters featuring various Pokemon. He fought the urge to   
black out completely and explained to the Nurse from his rapidly growing puddle   
of rainwater what had befallen him and his Slowpoke.  
  
'Oh' the female voice came back when David finished his story, 'I'll do my best   
for your Slowpoke. It is my first week, but I specialise in Water Pokemon, so   
your luck's in'  
  
'Oh right' said David, finally plucking up the courage to get to his feet 'so   
you're not the same Nurse Joy who I met when I was here a few weeks....oh,   
you're not Nurse Joy at all'  
  
David found himself staring not into the face of one the Nurse Joy clan which   
most people involved in Pokemon training knew better than the back of their own   
hands. Instead he was looking at a face of a woman a few years younger than   
Nurse Joy but despite her comparatively few years on the planet seemed knotted   
with stress. Although her face gave her away, her big blue eyes burned with   
vitality, and it took all of David's will power to stop himself from flinging   
his arms around her and telling her not to worry.  
  
'Ten out of ten for observation, Nurse Joy's on holiday' she said and melted all   
the stress away with a warm smile, 'Let's get this Pokemon sorted out'  
  
After the two of them had taken a stretcher between them, David was sat outside   
the Water Pokemon ward restoring some of his own energy with an industrial-  
strength coffee. He was worrying how he was going to explain to his sister why   
they were several hours late and why her prized Slowpoke looked considerably   
more confused than is normal when a local police officer came through the door.  
  
'Hello there Sir, I'm Officer Jeremy of the Celadon Constabulary.' The officer   
flicked opened his wallet with his Police ID and Pokemon trainer's license.   
'While you're waiting for your Pokemon, can you tell me what happened?   
Slowpoke's aren't in the habit of getting into accidents like this'  
  
David explained his encounter with the pack of Growlithes and they didn't seem   
to be running away from anything. The policeman seemed perplexed.  
  
'We've had a lot of cases of this, and people have started reporting a big drop   
in wild Pokemon numbers just lately. I've had a number of trainers saying that   
the Pokemon don't seem to be running away from something, but running TO   
somewhere.'  
  
'Weird, oh and what's with all the wanted posters? Are there rampaging gangs of   
Pokemon burglars now?' David thought he was joking, but the Officer's grave   
expression didn't seem to agreee with him.  
  
'No, that's Pokemon which have disappeared from their trainers, sometimes while   
they were still in Pokeballs.'  
  
'You don't think Team Rocket could have reformed again and be doing all this?'  
  
'Don't think there's much likelihood of that, do you?'  
  
The two of them chuckled at the absurd notion which seemed to brighten both   
their moods.  
  
'So you think the Pokemon escaped then?'  
  
'That's even less likely than Team Rocket been behind this, it's in a Pokemon's   
nature to be loyal to it's trainer. After all, it's a lot better life than in   
the wild.'  
  
Just then, the Nurse that David first met popped her head around the door of the   
ward and smiled.  
  
'You can leave all the worrying to me now' she said ' It'll have a headache for   
a day or two and I wouldn't let it use it's Confusion attack for a while, but   
other than that it'll be fine'  
  
'Thanks Nurse, I don't know how I can repay you'  
  
The Nurse nervously put one hand behind her head and blushed 'Just doing the job   
I love' she giggled.  
  
David felt that his luck was on a bit of a roll now, so he went for it.  
  
'Tell you what, next time I'm in Celadon, and the weather's a bit less   
apocalyptic.' Deep breath. 'How about I treat you with dinner somewhere?'  
  
The nurse's blush went supernova. 'S-sure' she stammered. 'It's a real pity   
you've got to get home to be shouted at by your sister, because I finish my   
shift in a few minutes'.  
  
'Um...OK, so who do I call for when I'm in the area next then'  
  
'Nurse Waterflower' said the girl, pulling off her unflattering nurse's hat,   
letting waves of shimmering orange hair fall about her shoulders and making   
David's libido take an express elevator to the Penthouse Suite.  
  
'But....I think you can call me Misty'  
  
  
J5-J5-J5-J5-J5-J5-J5-J5-J5-J5-J5-J5-J5-J5-J5-J5-J5-J5-J5-J5-J5-J5-J5-J5-J5-J5-   
  
  
A couple of teenagers in matching green hiking apparel strolled along a forest   
path on their way to Mount Moon, two Pokeballs to each of their names. Two pairs   
of eyes regarded them with interest from the undergrowth as the two travelling   
companions laid down their equipment in a nearby clearing and prepared to eat   
lunch.  
  
Neither of the two observers recognised the two young Pokemon trainers   
personally, but one of them could identify with the scenario. The less then full   
complement of Pokemon indicated that they were intermediate student trainers on   
their first adventure into the wider world. He remembered the fun, he remembered   
the disappointments. He remembered the feeling of seemingly having everything to   
gain.  
  
He also remembered that he hadnt eaten a square meal in two days.  
  
He sighed and whispered to his companion 'You know the drill'.  
  
The other watcher nodded and began to skirt around the edge of the clearing, as   
it neared the two trainers, it began to deliberately kick up a disturbance on   
the forest floor and finally came running past the picnicking youngsters.  
  
The male trainer looked up and nearly choked on the sandwich he was halfway   
through. When he had finished coughing, he nudged his female companion.  
  
'Was that what I think it was?' he said, not taking his eyes of the motion   
amongst the trees.  
  
'Yup, shall we?'  
  
'I think lunch can wait for the minute. Sandshrew go!'  
  
'Nidorino, go get it'  
  
The two Pokemon popped out and followed their trainers into the undergrowth.   
However, their quarry had a decent head-start and was darting and weaving at an   
amazing speed among the trees, not even attempting to engage in a battle with   
either of the trainer's Pokemon. The chase went on for ten minutes before both   
humans gave up, returned their Pokemon and sat down on a log exhausted.  
  
'That was a waste of time' said the lad petulantly  
  
'It's all experience in the end, maybe we should get some speed enhancers for   
Sandshrew and Nidorino'  
  
'I know one thing, I've worked up a hell of an appetite, let's get back and   
finish lunch'  
  
When they did return to the clearing, they were aghast to find their gear   
ransacked and all their food and money stolen.  
  
'Oh no, what are we gonna do Andy?' sobbed the girl into her companion's   
shoulder.  
  
'Don't worry Melissa, my mum gave me a swipe card. We can go back to town and   
get some emergency cash'  
  
He reached out for the girl's hands and looked tenderly into her eyes.  
  
'All we need is our Pokemon.....and each other'  
  
The thief watched this scene of blossoming young love from a distance and cursed   
himself for even entertaining notions of jealousy. He never remembered it being   
that easy, then again he never tried.  
  
After the couple had gathered up the remnants of their belongings, scratched   
  
  
'A 4 M 4eva'   
  
  
on a tree trunk and moved up back the way they had came. The two secretive   
figures moved into the clearing and began to share out the food they had   
procured. The larger of the two started to count the banknotes he had discovered   
in a rucksack compartment.  
  
'There's quite a bit here, they're giving kids much more money to start with   
than when I was their age.'  
  
The other barely acknowledged him as it munched on a cupcake.  
  
The human looked down sorrowfully at the bounty he had stolen and the   
temporarily shattered dreams it represented. He felt disgusted for having   
lowered himself to the level of nothing more than a common criminal. However,   
like the two trainers that had been his victims, he had chosen a certain path   
for himself in life and he knew that cicumstances meant there could be no other   
way but to live as an outcast.   
  
No matter what the consequences where.  
No matter what it did to his honour and self-image  
No matter how many friends he had lost and enemies he had gained.  
No matter how he tried to justify his actions, it didn't make him feel any   
better.  
  
He looked at his Pokemon companion and longtime friend.  
  
'This way of living just isn't good for the soul' said Ash solemnly.  
  
'Pikachu' the electric rodent agreed.  
  
J5-J5-J5-J5-J5-J5-J5-J5-J5-J5-J5-J5-J5-J5-J5-J5-J5-J5-J5-J5-J5-J5-J5-J5-J5-J5-   
  
Author's notes:  
  
Sorry there's not a lot of swashbuckling action and epic Pokemon battles in   
chapter 1 but I'd prefer PK:U to be a fairly slow starter. And trust me, I do   
intend for it to get a bit darker in tone.  
  
Shouts  
------  
  
To Lex, Tim and Brandooooon and everyone on the 'Ultimate Dodge Forum'  
Anyone who thinks the American dubbing of 'Mewtwo Strikes Back' is a travesty.  
The author of the mighty gothic fantasy that is 'Pokemon Master' Ace Sanchez  
Author of 'Pokemon: Evolution', Alicia Ashby  
All the other good Pokefic writers: you know you are!  
Pika163, Jessica Rocket and all other top Pokemon fanfic MiSTers  
The mighty Dr. Thinker and all good-humoured MiSting victims  
All AAMLers everywhere  
All Pokemon freaks who should be too old for this sort of thing, hell I know I   
am!  
  
Finally a request, if anyone has screen grabs or movie clips of the end credits   
of any of the pokemon movies please please please please please send them to me! 


End file.
